Giorgio Armani, King Of Milan Nightlife

Giorgio Armani has a side gig: moonlighting as a nightclub impresario. At 82, the designer has become an unlikely hero to a new crowd in Milan, credited with rejuvenating the city’s fashionable night life with a private club called Giorgio’s. Each Thursday, the Armani/Privé club in the designer’s compound turns into a members-only spot, with a dedicated entrance, intimate ambiance and mix of international D.J.’s and live music. With performers like Róisín Murphy, Mia Moretti, the Atlantics and the Gypsy Queens, Giorgio’s has been tilting the city’s social axis since it opened in November. “There hasn’t been anything in Milan since the 1980s that has created the same buzz,” said Alan Prada, deputy editor of the magazine L’Uomo Vogue and a member of Giorgio’s. If elegance is refusal, as Coco Chanel used to say, Giorgio’s takes the mantra to new heights. A committee that includes Roberta Armani, Mr. Armani’s niece, and Michele Tacchella, luxury and fashion director at Armani, has issued membership invitations to about 600 people, including friends of the luxury Italian house, architects, chefs, entrepreneurs and gallery owners. But according to a staff member, the designer himself has the final say over who should receive a golden membership card (encased in a leather box with a handwritten letter). Some cards flaunted on Instagram went to Enrica Ponzellini, editor in chief of Vogue Bambini and Vogue Sposa; Gianluca Cantaro, editor of L’Officiel Italia and L’Officiel Hommes Italia; and Eleonora Pratelli, a publicist. During the men’s wear shows in January, the singer Joe Jonas and the actors Richard Madden and Edward Holcroft came by. Read more at The New York Times.